Chap 3: What’s a hungry man, Daddy?

Banging the door behind her, Lily quickly scurried along to her workplace praying earnestly beneath her breath that she would not encounter the dreaded Mongrels. She hated the fact that she was so hard on Sam but she couldn’t bear having the thought of losing him. She was angry with Sam for being so immature - Lily dreaded walking the streets just as much as he did not want her to. She was constantly on the lookout for Mongrels, constantly in fear, weighed down with the responsibility having to provide for the family and constantly thinking about suicide. In times when there is no hope, suicide seemed like a viable option – it seemed that it was the only way to end her misery. Yet day after day, Lily pushed the suicidal thoughts aside for the sake of her loved ones.

It was the year 2145 when this nightmare began. Sam and herself had a wonderful life together; Sam had a stable, good job and simply adored her. Her 77-year old Pappy was healthy, strong and didn’t look a day older than fifty. But most of all, they had Timmy. Timmy was their little bundle of joy, proof of their love and dedication towards each other. Timmy was only slightly over a year old when they descended from the night sky by the multitudes; like grains of sand on the beach. Fleets and fleets of alien starships crashing onto Earth and in that instance, ending the freedom of Man.

Pappy, Sam, Timmy and herself were in the backyard when it all happened. Balloons and ribbons decorated the lawn. A fireworks display were planned for the night, pretty pink and green ones. It was Sam’s birthday and they were having a barbeque to celebrate it. She could remember Sam laughing as he blew out the candles of his cake, Timmy was clapping his hands gleefully and Pappy was playing a birthday tune on his old, trusted harmonica. Then it all ended.

Suddenly, the clear sky turned smoky, dark and red and they heard a horrible wailing sound issued from the dark sky. They saw great balls of fire traveling as fast as the speed of light plunging onto the grounds, as the vehicles neared the Earth. One of the ships landed on their house, crushing it easily. Now thinking back, she wished the entire family was inside the house and crushed to bits instead of being out in the yard with their lives preserved till today.

She remembered Pappy screaming and Timmy crying in fear when the Mongrels emerged from the ship. Those things were 7-feet tall, had the physique of Man with long, flowing ebony hair. Protruding from their back, were a shapeless mass of tentacles that excreted a filthy mass of slime and seemed to retract and extend as the beings wanted. They had tear-shaped white colored eyes with no pupils, which turned into a shade of bloody red when they engaged in combat. As they drew near, till today Lily remembered the first time she peered into their eyes; it was as if their souls were void of any form of emotions and expressions. Their complexion appeared to be scarred from a distance, but up close she realized that the awful stench caused by these beings were caused by their rotting skin. Hence, they were called Mongrels, as they looked half-human, half something else.

As they emerged, one of them drew their filthy tentacles through Pappy, and he died instantly as the slime ate through his flesh. Lily ran towards her father and another one of those horrid things grabbed her. Although she feared for her own safety, all she could hear was Timmy screaming and she would never forget the terrified screams. She just needed to close her eyes and she could remember the screams as if it happened yesterday. Sam tried to stop them, Lily saw and knew that he tried but failed. Before passing out from the pain Lily was experiencing, she saw a wayward tentacle hit Sam on the head and he lost consciousness.

The Mongrels invaded Earth and conquered her; and strict regulations were made. Small square 30 feet x 30 feet rooms were built underground and each housed a family. The men were not allowed out of the rooms; Sam and Timmy hasn't seen a single ray of light for five years, which explained their frail complexions. Only women were allowed to move around the grounds above. Lily had to engage in an awful row with her husband every single day when she needed to leave the home because Sam knew why his wife was allowed to wander around. The Mongrels had an insatiable craving for earth women. Desperate men left their rooms and turned into cannibals, killing each other. When the Mongrels found them, they were killed. The women were always spared.

Deep in thought, Lily was not aware of her surroundings and it was too late before she noticed the shadow of a Mongrel standing in front of her…